MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee basketball team heads to Fort Wayne, Ind. to take on Purdue Fort Wayne at 4:00 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday afternoon. The game will be the first Horizon League road matchup for the Panthers this season.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats of the game also available. Links to the broadcast and live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com. 
 
THE MATCHUP & GAME LINKS
Wednesday, Dec. 10 | Milwaukee at Purdue Fort Wayne | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | 4:00 p.m. (CT) | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
QUICK NOTES
» Milwaukee enters Wednesday's game looking to snap a five-game skid, taking on Purdue Fort Wayne at 4:00 p.m. (CT) at Allen War Memorial Coliseum. This will be the Panthers' second-ever appearance at the venue, the primary home of the PFW Mastodons' men's program.
» The Panthers opened Horizon League play on Friday at home against Youngstown State, falling to the Penguins, 68–56. Tierney Madigan scored a team-high 17 points, while Jorey Buwalda added 11 and Rita Gomes chipped in 10. Izzy Pugh led Milwaukee with four rebounds.
» Milwaukee is 4–6 in its Horizon League road openers dating back to the 2015–16 season. The Panthers lost at Youngstown State on Dec. 4 a season ago.
» Purdue Fort Wayne has opened league play with two straight wins, earning victories at IU Indy on Wednesday and at home against Wright State on Sunday. A year ago, the Mastodons started Horizon League play with a 15–0 record.
» In their most recent win, Purdue Fort Wayne knocked off Wright State, 68–52. Anna Nelson led the way with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Lili Krasovec added 15 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. The Mastodons shot 45.1 percent from the field and were an impressive 18-of-22 from the free-throw line.
» The Mastodons qualified for the Women's NIT last season and earned wins over Old Dominion and Butler before falling to Cleveland State in the Great Eight round.
» Milwaukee is 9–7 against Purdue Fort Wayne at the Division I level but has dropped five of its last six matchups with the Mastodons, including both meetings last season. The Panthers are 2–5 when playing in Fort Wayne, while the teams are 5–5 all-time in conference matchups.

QUICK LOOK AT PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Coming off the most successful Division I season in program history, Purdue Fort Wayne looks to build on its momentum in 2025-26. The Mastodons went 27-9 last year, including an 18-2 mark in the Horizon League, finishing one game behind Green Bay for a share of the regular-season crown. They advanced to the Horizon League Championship before falling to the Phoenix, 76-63.

This year's team, led by Maria Marchesano, is off to a 6-4 start, including back-to-back wins over IU Indy and Wright State to begin Horizon League play. PFW also has non-league victories over Purdue, Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and Northwestern State.

Wednesday's game will be the first of two back-to-back contests for the Mastodons at Memorial Coliseum—the home venue for the men's program—due to scheduling overlap. This will be the second meeting between Milwaukee and Purdue Fort Wayne at the Coliseum; the Mastodons won the first matchup in February 2005, 70-65.

Alana Nelson leads all Horizon League players in minutes per game (34.9), while Jordan Reid ranks second (33.2). Rylee Bess has been the league's top three-point shooter at 45.2 percent among qualified players. Nelson is also tops in the league in scoring (16.4 ppg), while Reid is second in steals (2.7 spg).

As a team, the Mastodons are fifth in scoring at 65.7 points per game and fifth defensively, allowing 64.8 per contest. PFW has struggled on the glass, averaging just 31.9 rebounds per game—10th among 11 Horizon League teams.

PURDUE FORT WAYNE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alana Nelson – 10 GP / 10 GS, 34.8 MPG, 16.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 14 AST, 8 STL
Jordan Reid – 10 GP / 10 GS, 33.2 MPG, 11.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 24 AST, 27 STL
Lili Krasovec – 10 GP / 10 GS, 24.5 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 20 AST, 6 BLK
Rylee Bess – 10 GP / 0 GS, 22.2 MPG, 8.2 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 9 AST, 15 STL

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will wrap up non-conference play with a pair of home games against Division III opponents. The Panthers will welcome Ripon to the Klotsche Center on Dec. 14 at 1:00 p.m. Ripon is receiving votes in both national Division III polls. The matchup will also feature Milwaukee junior Jorey Buwalda facing her older sister, Ripon senior Presley Buwalda.

LAST MEETING
Milwaukee and Purdue Fort Wayne last met in the Panthers' regular-season finale on Feb. 27, 2025—a dominant showing by the Mastodons, who won 82-46. PFW held Milwaukee to five points in the opening quarter and led 22-5 on the way to a 36-point victory.

Lauren Ross and Audra Emmerson led PFW with 12 points apiece, while Amellia Bromenschenkel added 11 and Renna Schwieterman scored 10 off the bench. The Mastodons shot 51.8 percent overall and 51.9 percent from deep, scoring 31 points off 23 Milwaukee turnovers.

Izzy Pugh led Milwaukee with nine points off the bench; she and Jorey Buwalda shared the team lead with five rebounds. The Panthers shot 32.7 percent from the field and 5-for-20 from three.

ON THIS DATE
Milwaukee is 4-9 all-time in 13 games played on Dec. 10, including a 3-1 mark in its last four. One of those wins came against Purdue Fort Wayne prior to the Mastodons joining the Horizon League, a 60-48 Milwaukee road victory in 2017-18. Steph Kostowicz led the Panthers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds and three blocks.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK FOR THE FRESHMAN
True freshman Tierney Madigan has scored in double figures in three straight games—10 against Pacific, 13 vs. UC Davis, and 17 against Youngstown State. She is the first true freshman to do so since Jorey Buwalda in 2023-24.

The last Milwaukee freshman with four straight double-digit games was Megan Walstad in 2018-19, a stretch that included a longer run of seven consecutive double-figure scoring games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 7, 2018.

GOMES IN THE FOURTH
Rita Gomes hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter against UC Davis on Nov. 29. It was her second such performance this season after doing the same on Nov. 23 at Butler.

The last Panther with at least three threes in a single quarter was Jada Donaldson, who hit three in the first quarter at Detroit Mercy on Feb. 13, 2025. The last to do so in the fourth quarter was Angie Cera in Milwaukee's 93-87 overtime win vs. Wright State on Jan. 26, 2024.

FOUR STEALS, ONE GAME
Three different Panthers have tallied four-steal games this season:
• Sophia Rampulla vs. Marquette (Nov. 19)
• Valerie Cassidy-De Falco vs. Pacific (Nov. 28)
• Tierney Madigan vs. UC Davis (Nov. 29)

No Panther has recorded more than four steals since Feb. 19, 2021, when Miquela Santoro had six against UIC.

BIG REBOUNDING EFFORTS
In Milwaukee's win over Valparaiso on Nov. 16, Jorey Buwalda grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds, becoming the first Panther with at least 15 boards since Megan Walstad pulled down 16 on Jan. 20, 2023, against Robert Morris.
On the other side, UC Davis' Megan Norris became the first opposing player with 15 or more rebounds against Milwaukee since Marquette's Chloe Marotta had 16 on Nov. 13, 2022.

OVERTIME WIN VS. VALPARAISO
Milwaukee and Valparaiso went to overtime for the third time in series history on Nov. 17. The Panthers scored 12 points in the extra session—their most in an OT period since Nov. 4, 2024, at St. Thomas (14 points). Grace Lomen scored 10 of Milwaukee's 12 overtime points, becoming the first Panther with double-digit points in an overtime period since Angela Rodriguez had 11 on Dec. 4, 2012.

COMEBACK WIN
On Nov. 17, Milwaukee erased a 31-29 halftime deficit to defeat Valparaiso 72-67. It marked the team's first comeback win of the season and extended a streak of at least one comeback win every season since 1995-96. The program record for comeback wins in a season is seven (2016-17 and 2019-20).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR BUWALDA
Jorey Buwalda entered her junior season with two career double-doubles and has added two more in 2025-26, recording them against Loyola Chicago and Valparaiso. Her 17 rebounds at Valpo marked a new career high.

Buwalda Career Double-Doubles
• Nov. 18, 2023 vs. Mississippi Valley State – 20 Pts, 12 Reb
• Jan. 7, 2024 at Northern Kentucky – 18 Pts, 12 Reb
• Nov. 3, 2025 vs. Loyola Chicago – 18 Pts, 14 Reb
• Nov. 16, 2025 at Valparaiso – 15 Pts, 17 Reb

IN OVERTIME
Last season, Milwaukee set a program record by appearing in four overtime games and now holds a 22-27 record in games extending beyond regulation since joining Division I in 1990-91. The Panthers have played three overtime season openers—defeating Parkside in 2019-20 and falling to Ball State (2021-22) and St. Thomas (2024-25). Milwaukee is 1-0 in overtime in 2025-26.

FIRST YEAR HEAD COACHES
Milwaukee faced four first-year head coaches in its first five games:
• Jacey Brooks (Northern Illinois)
• Robin Pingeton (Wisconsin)
• Kate Achter (Western Michigan)
• Courtney Boyd (Valparaiso)

Two head coaches are new to the Horizon League this year as well: Kiefer Haffey (Detroit Mercy) and Keisha Newell (Oakland).

ONE-POINT GAMES
With its loss to Western Michigan on Nov. 13, Milwaukee fell to 21-19 all-time in one-point games, including a 12-9 record at home. The Panthers' last one-point win came on Nov. 26, 2022, against Boise State in overtime (55-54). Their last one-point win in regulation—and last at home—was on Jan. 13, 2018, against Youngstown State (62-61).

FRESHMAN SUCCESS AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
In Milwaukee's win at NIU, the Panthers were led by freshmen Kendall Barnes (17 points) and Madison Fitzgibbon (15 points).

The last time two Milwaukee freshmen scored at least 15 points in the same game was Jan. 2, 2011, vs. Detroit Mercy (Angela Rodriguez 15, Courtney Lindfors 15).

The last time two players reached double figures in the same game was Dec. 29, 2022, also against Detroit Mercy (Anna Lutz 11, Kamy Peppler 10).

TRUE FRESHMAN STARTER IN SEASON OPENER
Against Loyola Chicago, Madison Fitzgibbon became just the 18th true freshman to start a season opener for Milwaukee since joining Division I in 1990-91, and the first since 2022-23.

THAT'S AN ODD NUMBER
It's actually an even number, but Rita Gomes—who wears No. 16—became the first player in Milwaukee program history to wear a digit outside the traditional 0–5 range. The NCAA lifted restrictions on numbers 6–9 prior to the 2023-24 season.

CLOSING IN ON 500
Milwaukee currently has 497 wins at the Division I level, dating back to its inaugural 1990-91 season. MA Kelling led the program with 57 wins over the first five years, Jenny Sell recorded four wins in 1995-96, Sandy Botham totaled 245 wins, and current head coach Kyle Rechlicz has added 191.

PANTHERS FOR THREE
In January 2025, Iowa State's NCAA Division I record-breaking streak of 945 consecutive games with a made three-pointer ended against Texas Tech. With the Cyclones' streak stopped, Milwaukee now owns the fourth-longest active streak in Division I.

All-Time Streaks
1. Iowa State – 945 (Feb. 19, 1995–Jan. 11, 2025)
2. Chattanooga – 815 (Dec. 16, 1999–Present)*
3. BYU – 805 (Feb. 26, 2000–Present)*
4. South Alabama – 765 (Feb. 2000–Present)*
5. Milwaukee – 711 (Nov. 29, 2002–Present)*
6. Dayton – 697 (Jan. 2, 2001–Jan. 17, 2024)
* Active streaks (through Dec. 6, 2025)

TEN FOR THREE
After posting only three games with 10+ three-pointers in 2023-24, Milwaukee rebounded with eight such games in 2024-25, including its postseason loss to Detroit Mercy. Under Kyle Rechlicz, the Panthers have recorded at least 10 threes in a game 71 times.

MAGIC NUMBER
Since 2016-17, when Milwaukee shoots at least 40 percent from the field, it is 117-45 (.722). When shooting 43 percent or better, the Panthers improve to 100-25 (.800). When shooting below 40 percent, Milwaukee is 27-100 (.213).

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since 2022-23, Milwaukee is 12-2 when committing 11 or fewer fouls. Conversely, the Panthers are 11-33 when committing 18 or more.

IN THE PAINT
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Milwaukee is 21-21 when scoring more than 25 points in the paint and 5-28 when scoring fewer than 25.

BALANCING THE FIRST AND SECOND HALVES
Last season, Milwaukee shot 39.6 percent (354-896) in first halves and 39.3 percent (338-862) in second halves. In overtime, the Panthers shot 7-of-30 (23.3 percent).

This season, Milwaukee is shooting 36.9 percent (94-255) in first halves, 39.4 percent (108-274) in second halves, and 33.3 percent (2-6) in overtime.

CLOSE GAMES
Last season, Milwaukee went 3-14 in games decided by nine points or fewer. The Panthers' three wins came in both home and road victories over IU Indy and a home win over Youngstown State. In 2025-26, the Panthers are 1-3 in single-digit games.